[Rmaxx13]

Greetings all
last march i purchased a brand new springfield arms M1A.
I ordered 500 rounds of PMC 150Gr. cleaned it, took it to the range in the end of may (life got in the way) Mounted a nikon scope, started shooting, things looked good after three trips to the range, on round number 147 the extractor broke! came home, ordered two extractor's, two ejector srpings along with ejector "Pin" extractor spring with the metal end. ordered all this from fulton armory (GREAT COMPANY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE) i also ordered there bolt assembly tool. installed extractor and all associated parts. wen to the range, fired three shots, the extractor claw popped out of the gun. so i put it away and came home.
Any ideas what might have gone wrong?
Brian

 

[Buelligan]

I wouldn't be happy either, but I doubt the second problem had anything to do with the first.

Send the rifle back to SAI. They'll fix it.

 

[Earthquake]

Are the new extractor GI? Check to see if the pin on the extractor is hanging past the bottom of the bolt, you may have been sent M1 Garand extractors which are fine but the pin can be a bit longer and will show past the bolt body which will hit the top round in the mag and push the extractor up and out of the bolt.

Casey

 

[KurtC]

My initial impression

M1A's have tight, match style chambers.

Oversized ammunition is punishing on extractors.

PMC ammuniton is low quality South Korean fodder.

I would put it back together and try some Federal M1A OTM ammo, see if you have the same problem. As mentioned above, make sure the extractor shaft doesn't protrude out of the bolt.

 

[Buelligan]

PMC ammuniton is low quality South Korean fodder.

The only failure to fire I ever had was with PMC ammo. I never forgot that. I'll shoot it, but I don't keep anything loaded with it.

 

[BrokenVet]

Suggest that you order USGI extractor for next time you buy them.

 

[POLACK]

check extractor dimple where pin fits

 

[32639]

The government must have made millions of extractor spares, they seem never to run out.

 

[M1AFL]

Here's the deal from my limited experience with the M1A platform:

You purchased a rifle from SAI, it broke and you attempted to fix it without sending it back to SAI..........??

I am a trained Armorer on some platforms, not on the M1A, but I could probably muddle my way through a repair. So if I plunk down serious money on a rifle that supposedly has a good warranty program, which SAI does, if something breaks, I am calling them up and sending it back to them for the repair.

My point is, call them up and send it back to them for repair, period. You may well be qualified to make the repair at your expense and time, but why do this????

 

[Instructor]

In SAI's case, sending it back is no doubt the best way to handle a problem, but it does not take very many trips to UPS, etc., etc., to wear on ones nerves and temper. Do believe the ammunition one feeds the SAI's creates such problems and while at Camp Perry this year spoke with SAI representative and quizzed him why so many problems and his immediate answer was ammunition/reloads. I apparently have been very lucky with new firearms I have purchased/used over some 60+ years for I have never had to return but one firearm to the factory and that was a Remington Model 541 22 rifle which gave accuracy of a shotgun. Notice that model or similar one uses Shilen barrels these days.

 

[Capona]

Everyone above is spot on. Call SAI, they will only want the bolt sent in.you will have it back quickly.

Here's the deal from my limited experience with the M1A platform:

You purchased a rifle from SAI, it broke and you attempted to fix it without sending it back to SAI..........??

I am a trained Armorer on some platforms, not on the M1A, but I could probably muddle my way through a repair. So if I plunk down serious money on a rifle that supposedly has a good warranty program, which SAI does, if something breaks, I am calling them up and sending it back to them for the repair.

My point is, call them up and send it back to them for repair, period. You may well be qualified to make the repair at your expense and time, but why do this????

 

[ChileRelleno]

Sorry to hear your extractor broke, all too common story.

It sucks that with a company such as SAI and a rifle as expensive as their M1A, that all the internals aren't strictly top quality.
The M1A's extractor has been much discussed as possibly the weakest link in the rifle.
So much so that it may be the first part many upgrade/replace whether needed or not.

I know that I didn't want to hassle with it and replaced it with a USGI part, as I did with many other parts. And a few performance parts upgrades too.

Spring Guide, Sadlak
Op-Rod Spring, Tubbs
Spring, Hammer, Tubbs

Extractor, HRA
Pin, Hammer, IHC
Housing, Hammer Spring, SA, Late, Post War
Hammer, SA, Late, marked C46008-2 SA, WWII
Plunger, Hammer Spring, SA, flat ends, no wings, Post War
Pin, Trigger, IHC
Assembly, Trigger & Sear only, IHC, Late, unmarked

Noticeable & positive differences in the trigger after changes:
Lighter pull
Not gritty in the least (after some very light polishing)
Approx 1/8" take-up
The tiniest bit of creep
Crisp break

 

[POLACK]

call them first ask for return auth and a fedex sheet

 

[deiter]

Sorry to hear of your failure but IMHO exercise that SAI warranty

 

[Konstanty]

Rmaxx13, your experience sounds almost exactly like the one I had with my own M1A, more than ten years ago. The factory extractor kept flying out until it lost itself in the grass. So I ordered an aftermarket extractor, and it did the same damn thing. I was so disgusted I came close to selling the rifle and getting something else.

Trouble was -- as I later realized -- that the dimple where the extractor piston fits into the extractor itself was much too shallow, allowing the extractor to come loose easily. This was on both the original extractor and the replacement, so it wasn't strictly a Springfield problem.

After reading around here for a while, I sent for a PB extractor, and my rifle has been shooting fine ever since. In fact, I was out perforating paper at 100 yards with it, just last Friday.

In spite of some of the advice that's been posted, I wouldn't waste my time sending the gun back to SAI. All they'll do is replace the bad extractor with another bad extractor. My recommendation -- you can take it for what it's worth -- is to get a PB or USGI extractor. That's what solved my problem.

My experience has been that many of the SAI extractors and many of the aftermarket extractors are very substandard. From that time on, I've only used the best.

 

[Rmaxx13]

Gentlemen,
Thank you for the advice and information. I called customer service, they are sending a prepaid label for me to ship my entire rifle back, they would like to look it over and will fix it for free, under the warranty.
finally a customer service that is actually customer service!!!!
PS i was on hold about 30 seconds! great!!

 

[Snyper762]

They will fix it. It was already paid for in original purchase price though.

 

[M14E2]

Are the new extractor GI? Check to see if the pin on the extractor is hanging past the bottom of the bolt, you may have been sent M1 Garand extractors which are fine but the pin can be a bit longer and will show past the bolt body which will hit the top round in the mag and push the extractor up and out of the bolt.

Casey

Is the bolt USGI? Probably not.

Commercial bolt + commercial extractor = ??????

 

[Pvt. Joker]

I picked up this 2002 SA M1A some months ago that had a forged SAI bolt, after a few rounds it started acting up a bit, tossing the brass in different areas and then not at all, just left them on top of the bolt or jammed in the bolt not allowing the next round to slide in the chamber.

I did have a couple of sets of USGI bolt guts and extractors I had collected a few years ago.
I replaced all of it with the Uncle Sugar parts, now it throws a nice pile of my LC brass in the 1400 ( 2:00PM area).

This being the 3rd or 4th SA M1A I have owned I eventully did replace ALL the parts with USGI SA parts, trigger group, barrel ( I lucked out as it came with a factory installed 1962 SA chromelined barrel ) op rod, rear and front sights, stock, flash suppressor with bayo lug, USGI op rod guide.
The only thing I didn't change to USGI was the forged SAI bolt. I have read they are very good and I see no reason to go thru a bunch of headaches trying to find a nice USGI SA bolt without going thru a headspace nightmare. So far , so good !

If you can try and replace the overseas made stamped crap SAInc. is putting on their weapons if you can. Peace of mind and you will have just about as close to an issue rifle as you can buy within reason.


Joker OLIVEHELME

 

[chief on one]

Don't be supprise that they put another cast extractor back in . You will be right back where you started from. Get you some USGI EXTRACTORS and do the job yourself. You have the right tools.